True Grich is dedicated to one of my all-time favorite Angels - Bobby Grich.Bob-Bay! was fearless, and made watching baseball fun. True Grich is all about having fun talkin' baseball. So, come on in and don't be afraid.

"It’s good for your soul to give yourself completely to something you have no control over."
Ben (Jimmy Fallon) from the movie - Fever Pitch

May 20, 2011

The Angels had a bad week; boy did they have a bad week. They had losses that were humiliating, frustrating and even downright embarrassing. I think that about covers it right?

Now, you’re probably thinking I’m about to rant like there is no tomorrow and really let off some steam. Well if you predicted such behavior, you’d be wrong, my friend.

Now, I do enjoy a good rant every now and then and I’ve been working on a Jeff Mathis rant that will make your ears turn red, but I’m not going down that road today. I know most Angel fans are beside themselves right now and some of them are downright angry or worse, they’re ready to throw in the towel.

Not me. After all; I kind of like going against the grain every now and then anyway.

When the Angels return to the stadium tonight, I’m going to be there with a smile on my face and a positive attitude in my head. I know this is a cliché, but I’m going to say it anyway: the baseball season is a marathon.

Ever run a marathon?

I haven’t, but I know someone who has. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you might recall an interview I did with Ryan Cavinder, who is a Media Relations Representative with the Angels. In addition to his busy life with the Angels, he also happens to be an accomplished marathoner. Last weekend, he ran back to back marathons. Yes, he ran a marathon on Saturday and turned around and ran another one on Sunday.

So, what does that have to do with anything?

If you read Ryan’s blog (Escape the Ordinary) you will get a sense of some of the trials and tribulations he goes through when he’s running. I believe the stuff he goes through is almost necessary in order for him to feel the joy and sense of accomplishment he also receives when running. I imagine that if running long distances were easy, he wouldn’t find it as appealing.

Running a marathon rarely goes without some adversity along the way and if marathoners stopped running any time something didn’t go as they hoped or planned, they’d probably never finish. The important thing is to keep pushing forward.

It’s all about the journey and every journey is that much more interesting when “stuff happens.”

So, the Angels had a bad week. It was a week I’d just assume forget. It was horrendous by every stretch of the imagination and yet, I’m not worried. Sure, I may be a little annoyed, but my goal is to not let it show when they are back home this weekend.

My plan is to give the Angels my full support and to be there to cheer them on to victory. I know that sounds a little corny, but I also know that when I have a bad day or a bad week, the last thing I want to hear is more negativity. It doesn’t matter if the team deserves my positive energy or not.

I want this team to win and I want this journey through 2011 to be both interesting and fun. I’m willing to accept the good with the bad for the chance to experience the ride that is a season of baseball.

We’ve got a long road ahead of us. How will you attack the days and months ahead? I plan to attack them with a smile on my face; after all, I’ll be watching baseball and given everything else that is going on in the world today; I really can’t complain too much because my team hit a little bump or two in the road.

When you think about it - if you're going to show up at the stadium, you might as well expect the best. There's nothing worse than being around a bunch of people who act like Eeyore. Let's have some fun and let's get back to the business of doing our small part in helping this team win.

Let’s do this. Go Halos!

Programming note: Earlier in the week, Cheryl and I were invited to an Inland Empire 66ers game. I hope to have a post up about that great experience soon... so please stay tuned.

2 comments:

Great Post. I try to be positive about the Angels especially when they don't do well. It does get frustrating to hear them struggle when I know they are better than the box score shows. Thanks for encouraging me to keep the faith. I'm sure the team appreciates it too. Have fun tonight, I'll be listening & cheering right along with you. By the way, love the Eeyore reference

Thanks for the positive outlook, James. I've been an Angels fan way too long to let one bad week discourage me. I'll be at all the games, cheering my boys on. And besides, even with all the bad play, we're only 1 1/2 games out of first.

Cheryl's entry (she took 2nd place) for a contest in the Orange County Register

We Will Never Forget...

Nick Adenhart 1986-2009

We Will Never Forget...

Nick Adenhart 1986-2009

Baseball Quote of the Moment

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. ~A. Bartlett Giamatti, "The Green Fields of the Mind," Yale Alumni Magazine, November 1977

Mighty Maicer

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If you build it, they will come...

Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.